The West Virginia Legislature has completed one-third of its 60-day regular session, and there are several bills of interest wending their way through the process. 

For this legislative session, the Spilman Thomas & Battle Government Relations Practice Group will provide bi-weekly updates to its clients and other interested readers concerning the progress of significant legislation in certain areas such as environment, oil & gas, tax reform, healthcare, insurance, consumer finance, and civil justice reform. 

Positive First Reports on House Bill Process

As you may recall, the House of Delegates fundamentally changed the way it considers legislation. Starting with this session, after its introduction, a bill will be referred to a specialized subcommittee. If it is placed on the subcommittee agenda, on the first day of consideration, the bill would be presented and discussed, with testimony or prepared remarks by stakeholders or interested parties placed in the record. On the second day, amendments would be considered and voted on. And thereafter, the merits of the bill would be debated before a final vote. Whereupon, the bill moves to the full committee where it undergoes the same two-day process before it is reported to the full House floor for consideration. By contrast, the Senate process will remain the same. 

The loudest critics of this new process focused on the elimination of the right for public comment (which had only existed in the House process) whereby the committee would hold a public comment period in the chamber and permit supporters and opponents of pending legislation to voice their opinion. Given time constraints, and the number of participants, that process often resulted in speakers being accorded a bare minute, or two. Moreover, those public comment periods were often scheduled in the morning, prior to the start of committee hearings, so attendance by members was sometimes sparse. Now, with one day given over to public comments, and the opening of a record for those who would prefer to submit written comments, it seems that there is much more opportunity, rather than less, for the public to weigh in on legislation. Of course, this two-day process now means that it will take more time and effort to get a bill through the House.

Significant Remaining Dates in the 2025 Legislative Calendar:

• March 18, 2025: Last day to introduce bills in the House. Does not apply to bills originating in committee or appropriations bills. 
• March 24, 2025: Last day to introduce bills in the Senate. Does not apply to bills originating in committee or appropriations bills.
• March 30, 2025: Bills are due out of committee in house of origin.
• April 2, 2025: Last day to consider bills on third reading in house of origin (Cross-Over Day).
• April 12, 2025 (midnight): Session ends.

LEGISLATION OF INTEREST: Economic Development Bills Introduced

The following are bills of interest that have been introduced so far:

S.B. 552 is related to the Certified Business Expansion Development Program. It is the first of what is expected to be several this session addressing “microgrids,” or behind-the-meter electric generation. It amends the existing microgrid statute, originally enacted to support the Berkshire Hathaway Energy Renewables project in Jackson County, which allows a company to generate and sell electricity within the same development. The bill makes minor changes, including removing the requirement that only renewable power be generated and eliminating the restriction that projects must be on formerly state-owned property. While the Senate Committee on Economic Development approved the bill, it is currently stalled in Senate Rules, as the Governor is expected to introduce a similar but more comprehensive proposal.

S.B. 583 establishes economic incentives for data centers to be located within the state and further stimulates the state’s economy by relying on locally sourced coal-generated electricity. The bill provides salvage value treatment for personal property used by qualifying data centers; an exemption from the B&O tax for all coal-generated electricity sold to qualifying data centers; and a sales tax exemption for all personal property sold to and used in the construction or maintenance of a qualifying data center. In order to qualify for this special tax treatment and qualify for the incentives outlined in this act, a data center must be located within the State of West Virginia; make a new capital investment of at least $50 million on or after January 1, 2025; create at least 50 new jobs directly associated with the operation or maintenance of the data center; and use coal-generated electricity for at least 80 percent of its primary operational capacity. The bill has been referred to the Economic Development Committee, where it is currently pending, but must also pass the Finance Committee.

H.B. 2008 This bill, introduced by the Governor, significantly reshapes state government by merging six departments into three. Under the plan, the Department of Economic Development would consolidate into the Department of Commerce, the Department of Arts, Culture, and History would consolidate into the Department of Tourism, and the Adjutant General would take over the duties of the Secretary of Homeland Security. However, the proposal faced resistance in the House of Delegates. The House Government Organization Committee approved a revised version that only merged Economic Development into Commerce. Thereafter, the committee originated a new bill, H.B. 2009, that consolidates Arts, Culture, and History into Tourism. As a result, the only part of the Governor’s plan currently off the table is the transfer of Homeland Security oversight to the Adjutant General. While both bills are likely to pass the House, the Governor is expected to continue advocating for the Homeland Security restructuring.

H.B. 2026 The budget has been the source of contention since before the Session even began. As previously reported, Governor Morrisey claims there is a $400 million budget deficit, attributing it largely to the budget management of the previous administration and the Legislature. The Governor’s repeated criticisms have sparked frustration among lawmakers, with several legislative leaders questioning the accuracy of his figures. The budget is now in the Legislature’s hands, and it is nearly done with its annual budget hearing schedule. Regardless of the exact numbers, the Legislature is facing a more difficult financial landscape than in recent years and must weigh the fiscal impact of proposed legislation more carefully. S.B. 300 is the Senate companion budget bill. 

In the previous issue, we reported on S.B. 453, the Senate’s version of Governor Morrisey’s bill to repeal the certificate of need program for all healthcare facilities as of January 1, 2026. Yet, it was the House that attempted to move its version, H.B. 2007, first in the House Health Committee. The bill was presented for public hearing and supporters of the bill argued that removing regulations would promote a free market for healthcare facilities to expand across the state; opponents argued that unregulated healthcare markets were inappropriate for the state's payor mix (mostly government) and that would lead to fewer rural healthcare facilities. The bill was advanced to the mark-up/vote stage where it surprisingly went down in defeat on a vote of 12-13. Some committee members attributed this shocking defeat of the Governor’s bill to allegedly heavy-handed lobbying efforts. Even still, there is plenty of time in the session for that initiative to be revived as there are other House bills which accomplish the same or similar purpose and there still remains the Senate version of the Governor’s bill pending in the Health Committee of that chamber.

We also reported last week on S.B. 460, Governor Morrisey’s bill to modify the requirements for compulsory childhood immunizations in order to recognize exemptions based on religious and philosophical objections. After a vigorous floor debate that bill was advanced by the Senate on a vote of 20-12, with two absent. Upon its arrival in the House, it was immediately assigned to and taken up by House Health which held a public hearing on its merits. The committee heard testimony by the medical and healthcare community which largely opposed the bill, citing a fear of the spread of preventable childhood diseases, including the ongoing measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico. Proponents of the bill argued in favor of religious liberty, questioned the efficacy of the current immunizations, and pointed to vaccine injuries as proof that the pharmaceutical industry was promoting this regimen of care for its own profit. The bill is expected to be marked up and voted on sometime this week.

We reported on S.B. 439, a bill that clarified that wind power projects are not considered pollution control facilities so they no longer enjoy preferential tax treatment. The Senate Energy Industry & Mining Committee took up the bill and in a Committee Substitute simply repealed the operative section in code, thus stripping windmill projects of the right to be taxed at the lower salvage value rate of 5 percent. The bill was then advanced to the Finance Committee.